Blues hope to take out frustrations on Blackhawks
ST. LOUIS -- Desperation and frustration permeated the St. Louis Blues' locker room after Thursday night's loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blues had blown their second straight two-goal lead in the 7-4 blowout, drawing audible boos from what was left of the 17,068 in attendance at Enterprise Center as the players left the ice.
It was a season high in goals allowed. Starting goalie Jake Allen was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals in 21 shots and backup Chad Johnson didn't fare any better, allowing three goals in 16 shots.
"We're giving up odd-man rushes; we're giving up chances that just are uncharacteristic of this group," Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "Small things make a difference in the game now, especially with the way every team is built, every team can score, so we've got to make sure we're taking care of our end. I'm tired of leaving our goalies out to dry."
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko went as far as apologizing to the fans.
"It (stinks)," Tarasenko said. "If I had more English words I would explain this, but not much. It feels (bad) to be doing this in front of our fans. This is not the most fun time in our life and in my life personally. I don't know if you can (stink) more and then you get out of it."
The Blues fell to 2-4-3 and are in last place in the Central Division.
The locker room was closed for 23 minutes after Thursday's game, but the players and head coach Mike Yeo declined to comment on what was discussed. It was clear that they are all feeling the heat.
"I still believe that we'll be looking back at this as a turning point," Yeo said. "Heck, my job should be in question right now. Of course, that comes with the trade, but I'm not going to coach to save my job, I'm going to coach to win a Stanley Cup. I believe in this group."
The Blues hope to turn it around when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. It will be the third meeting already this season between the division rivals and the Blackhawks came away with overtime wins in the first two.
The Blackhawks are coming off a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Chicago (6-2-2, 14 points) has won three of its last four.
"Didn't really give up too many chances or too much defensively," Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane told NHL.com. "We played pretty rock solid. Two games in a row where we kind of stayed patient. ... We had control of the play most of the time and it was nice to finish it off with a couple insurance goals."
Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz said the team did a good job of controlling play.
"I think check pressure and swarming them right away when they get in the offensive zone," Schmaltz told NHL.com. "Not giving them any zone time and then on offense I think we're doing a good job spending time with the puck and making them play in their own end."
